Magnetic tape recording apparatus, and particularly apparatus used in connection with video tape recording (VTR), generally use rotating transducer heads. In one system which has been proposed, the signal recording is carried out approximately perpendicularly to the path of the tape. During optimization, the speed of the tape is reduced to about one-third of its normal value so that information which is recorded by one head can immediately be read again by the subsequent head. The optimization of recording is effected by rotating the level control in a recording amplification network--manually--until a reproducing level indicator shows a maximum.
The optimization system thus used is manually controlled, requiring substantial time for adjustment and, additionally, skill in setting the proper adjustment level. The optimum recording thus obtained is subjective in that the maximum signal level which is sensed is not always read at the same level by different operators so that the true optimum level is not always attained and reproducible results are difficult to achieve.